University of Phoenix Stadium has elevated Valley’s national sports profile
Dec 30, 2016, 2:37 PM
GLENDALE, Ariz. — When No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Ohio State kick off the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve at University of Phoenix Stadium, it will mark the second time in less than a year the venue has hosted either a national semifinal game or a national championship.
When the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four tips off in April, University of Phoenix Stadium will be the only stadium in the nation to have hosted the Final Four, the College Football National Championship and the Super Bowl over the five-year span from 2013-17. It will also have hosted more major events in those three sports (Super Bowls, Final Fours and College Football Playoff games or New Year’s Six Bowls) than any stadium in the country over the same span.
The 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship game between Alabama and Clemson generated $273.6 million in revenue from out-of-state visitors, according to a study by Arizona State University’s W.P Carey School of Business. The 2015 Super Bowl between New England and Seattle generated $720 million, per the same source.
While the overall economic impact of these game events varies from source to source, with some disputing ASU’s numbers, the number of recent mega-events is a quantifiable reminder of how much the stadium has added to the Valley’s sporting and overall culture, and how much it has elevated the Phoenix area’s national profile.
“I think it certainly has been an economic boon for the community, especially for our tourist industry,” said Cardinals president Michael Bidwill, who was the driving force behind the construction of the stadium. “It speaks to the faith the voters had when they voted and passed the funding for the stadium. We asked people to believe in the vision and it has paid off greater, and in more ways than anybody could have anticipated.”
First and foremost, Bidwill was looking for a new home for the Cardinals when he spearheaded the efforts to get the stadium built, but he also had a bigger-picture view in mind.
“We knew Dallas was going to build a new stadium and we knew there would be a new stadium in L.A. eventually so we knew there would be increased competition for top-tier bowls and we wanted to make sure the Fiesta Bowl would keep its status,” Bidwill said. “We also wanted the Super Bowl to come back (Sun Devil Stadium hosted the 1996 Super Bowl) and we wanted to host a Final Four.
“It worked. It’s totally unprecedented, the number of mega-events this stadium has hosted.”
Bidwill knew he would not have the same budget that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had when he built AT&T Stadium for nearly $1.2 billion, or the estimated $2.6 billion cost of Los Angeles’s new stadium, but as an architecture buff, he still wanted something special for the approximately half-billion dollar project, which began in 2003 and was completed in 2006.
“When you’re going to build something — especially when you spend half a billion dollars — you want it to be iconic,” said Bidwill, who admits he wanted to create a work of art. “That was our goal so when you saw it on TV, there was no question what city the building was representing. It was representing Phoenix, the Valley of the Sun and Arizona.”
With the Final Four a little more than three months away, another college football national semifinal scheduled for 2019 and more Super Bowls and Final Fours likely, University of Phoenix Stadium will continue to represent the Valley with some of the best major sporting events the nation has to offer.
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A five-year snapshot of the cities/stadiums that have hosted the Super Bowl, a college football national championship, a college football semifinal or New Year’s Six Bowl Games, and the college basketball Final Four (years indicate year in which game was played, but in some cases, the games marked the conclusion of the previous season).
University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. (7 events)
Super Bowl: 2015
College Football National Championship: 2016
College football national semifinal: 2016
New Year’s Six Bowl Games: Fiesta Bowl (3 non-playoff years)
Final Four: 2017
NRG Stadium, Houston (2)
Super Bowl: 2017
College football National Championship: None
College football national semifinal: None
New Year’s Six Bowl Games: None
Final Four: 2016
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas (6)
Super Bowl: None
College football National Championship: 2015
College football national semifinal: 2015
New Year’s Six Bowl Games: Cotton Bowl (three non-playoff games)
Final Four: 2014
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans (6)
Super Bowl: 2013
College Football National Championship: None
College football national semifinal: 2015
New Year’s Six Bowl Games: Sugar Bowl (four non-playoff games)
Final Four: None
*Georgia Dome, Atlanta (6)
Super Bowl: None
College Football National Championship: None
College football national semifinal: 2016
New Year’s Six Bowl Games: Peach Bowl (four non-playoff games)
Final Four: 2013
* — Mercedes-Benz Stadium will open in 2017 and will host the 2019 Super Bowl
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Florida (1)
Super Bowl: None
College Football National Championship: 2017
College football national semifinal: None
New Year’s Six Bowl Games: None
Final Four: None
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla. (5)
Super Bowl: None
College Football National Championship: 2013
College football national semifinal: 2015
New Year’s Six Bowl Games: Orange Bowl (three non-playoff games)
Final Four: None
Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, Calif. (5)
Super Bowl: None
College Football National Championship: 2013
College football national semifinal: 2015
New Year’s Six Bowl Games: Rose Bowl (three non-playoff games)
Final Four: None
* — City of Champions Stadium in Inglewood is scheduled to open in 2019 and will host the 2021 Super Bowl
Note: U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis is scheduled to host the 2018 Super Bowl and 2019 Final Four.
